Highlander: Endgame
The fourth and final theatrical film release in the series, Endgame brings together the two Highlanders Connor and Duncan MacLeod in a pitched battle against a third Immortal from Glenfinnen, named Jacob Kell. =Plot Synopsis= The movie begins with a flashback to the year 1992 in New York city where Duncan and Connor are walking down a street deep in conversation, when Connor suddenly excuses himself claiming he has an errand to run. Duncan is skeptical and becomes concerned. He asks to meet Connor later on in the evening for a drink and Connor accepts. Troubled, Duncan asks if everything is all right. Connor tries to reassure him that he is indeed alright and then tells Duncan to watch his back. He walks away leaving a confused and worried looking Duncan. Meanwhile, Connor's adopted daughter Rachel is returning to the antique store where she works and finds the door open. As she enters, she calls out wondering if Connor is inside but there is no response. She walks up to the loft to find a video playing of herself and Connor at various points of her life. A telephone on the table nearby begins to ring. Rachel hesitantly picks it up, triggering a huge explosion which destroys the entire floor taking Rachel with it. Connor who is approaching the building at the time, is knocked off his feet. In the chaos, a man in a hat and long coat walks away. The camera shows that he has three crosses emblazoned on the heel of his shoes. In a flashback to Scotland in 1555, Connor finds out that his mother has been ostracised for having” given birth to a demon" and decides to return to his home village in order to ensure she is safe. His wife Heather pleads with him not to go. Connor tells her that the villagers cannot hurt him but can still hurt those that he loves. With that he kisses Heather goodbye and leaves for his birthplace. He arrives and finds his mother alone and unwell. She explains that no one from the village takes care of her. Connor decides to take her with him but as they are leaving he experiences a Quickening, caused by sensing the pre-Immortal Jacob Kell. He and several clansmen arrive and capture Connor and his mother. Connor is outraged, pointing out to Kell that he vouched for him when the pre-Immortal decided to train as a Priest. Conner is taken to a dungeon while his mother is sentenced to be burned at the stake. He sees the villagers tying his mother to the stake. Father Rainey gives her a last chance to repent by confessing that Connor McCleod was "not of her loins." She refuses and the Priest instructs the villagers to burn her to death. A sympathetic man places a small pouch of gunpowder around her neck so that she will have a quicker death. In desperation Connor manages to loosen one of the bars on the window of his prison cell and uses it to overcome his guard and escape. Unfortunately before he can reach his mother, the powder around her neck ignites killing her almost instantly. Mad with grief, Connor murders several villagers who attack him and rushes to his mother's side. The Priest places a hand on Connor's shoulder asking him to leave her alone, at which point Connor wheels around and stabs him. Kell is enraged at the death of Father Rainey, who is later revealed to have taken the younger man in and raised him as his own son and attempts to murder Connor. McLeod stabs him too and leaves him for dead, not knowing that this violent death would trigger Kell's immortality. Although it is not shown on screen, Kell later tells Connor that after reviving he began stalking his fellow Highlander and murdering people he cares for by way of vengeance. After Rachel's death, Connor decides to go The Sanctuary, to avoid Duncan suffering the same fate. The Sanctuary is an extreme form of protective isolation for Immortals who are tired of The Game and the violence it implies. The scene shifts to The Sanctuary itself, where Kell's henchmen Winston, Carlos, Manny, Jin Ke and Cracker Bob confront the Watchers who guard and maintain it. Using shotguns, the guardian Monks are able to subdue the Immortals briefly but are ultimately overcome when Kell intervenes personally and murders them. Kell then severs the heads of all the Immortals hidden in The Sanctuary save Connor, who is released out of spite. Several days later, Watcher Matthew Hale is seen surveying the aftermath of the massacre as other watchers clear away the bodies. He comments that a new volunteer will have to be found. Duncan McLeod, troubled by Connor's disappearance, travels to Methos, the oldest of The Immortals to discuss a troubling vision he experienced while meditating. Methos tries to dismiss it as a symptom of the generally violent lives led by Immortals but brings up the subject of The Sanctuary when Duncan presses the subject.Duncan is skeptical that Connor would choose to go there voluntarily but becomes concerned when Methos explains that everyone in The Sanctuary seems to have been butchered the day beforehand. As Duncan is leaving Methos' house, a pay phone rings and he answers. A woman (later revealed to be his former wife Faith) tells him, "Whatever you fear about Connor MacLeod, fear the worst." She explains that she is a friend and hangs up. As Duncan walks on, Matthew Hale is seen speaking into his cell phone from a nearby café saying, "He's on the move." Duncan returns to New York and returns to Connor's house which has been badly damaged by the explosion which killed Rachel. As he looks around the place, he senses an Immortal. He turns and sees a woman standing by the entrance of Connor's inner sanctum, which does not seem to have been affected by the explosion. He realises that the woman is his former wife, Kate, although she explains she now goes by the name of Faith. She then attacks him using martial arts. He is overwhelmed and staggers out of Connor's private room into the main area of the house. Four of Kell's Immortal henchmen arrive and attack Duncan at once, in violation of the rules of The Game which state that only one Immortal may challenge another at any one time. (This is later revealed to be the Modus Operandi of Jacob Kell, which has given him an enormous if unfair advantage. Duncan manages to hold his own until Jin Ke arrives. Duncan attempts unsucessfully to appeal to Jin Ke's sense of honour. The two Immortals battle it out first with Katana and spear respectively. They then engage in hand to hand combat but are fairly evenly matched. They then stop when Kell walks down the stairs apologising ironically to Duncan for his henchmen's behaviour. Carlos suddenly pulls out a gun and shoots Duncan who staggers back, falls through a window and is impaled on the railings on the street below. Kell is furious and decapitaes Carlos and receives his quickening. Outside, a van pulls up. Several Watchers rush out remove Duncan from the railings and drive him away in the van. Duncan later revives to find that he has been strapped onto some kind of gurney and sees Mathew Hale. Hale explains that Kell has gone renegade and has given himself a sizeable advantage by overwhelming other Immortals through sheer force of numbers. He explains that there must be at least two Immortals to make sure the Prize is safe and injects Duncan with a powerful sedative, who falls unconcious. He awakes later to see Joe Dawson and Methos who have broken into the new Sanctuary to rescue him. Methos returns his sword to him and they begin to drive away. Duncan asks them to stop the car and tries to leave, intent on going after Jacob Kell. Dawson pulls him up short by asking how many heads he has taken. McLeod angrily replies that he doesn't keep count. The Watcher then takes out a laptop and reveals that his organisation do keep such information. The file shows that By the turn of the century, Kell has 661 Immortal kills (compared to 262 for Connor MacLeod, and 174 for Duncan MacLeod), making him the most powerful Immortal ever. Duncan then asks to go and see where Connor was alledgedly buried following the Sanctuary’s destruction. They drive to the cemetery where Joe and Methos leave him, despite Joe's tongue-in-cheek offer to help him dig. As `Duncan walks around, he senses Connor, who speaks to him in Scottish Gaelic. Duncan is puzzled and asks how Connor was able to escape The Sanctuary. Connor explains that he was in fact released and that he walked out on his life in order to protect those that he cares about. The two then experience a Quickening, caused by the presence of Jacob and Kate. Kell taunts Connor, bragging about how he has killed the Highlander's loved ones time and again. Connor rises to the bait and takes out his sword, even pressing it to Kell's neck but holds himself in check. Duncan also reminds him that he is standing on Holy Ground, where fighting between Immortals is forbidden. Kell steps out of the cemetery onto a foot path with Connor and they both duel. McLeod is hopelessly outmatched and Kell wounds him across the chest. Kell makes it clear that he wants Connor to live and suffer until they are the only two Immortals remaining and that the Highlander has missed his once chance to stop him. He cruelly gives Connor his mother's necklace which was taken off her moments before she was burned alive. Kell makes it clear that Duncan is living on 'borrowed time' before leaving with Kate. In another Flashback, it is revealed that In 1712, Duncan is strolling through a forest in Ireland with Connor. Duncan voices fears about English aggression and that Scotland will be no more. Connor reassures him that Scotland will always be Scotland and that he will return there no matter what. T The two soon come across two Highwaymen who who are trying to extort money from a passing coach, inside which is a pre-Immortal woman named Catherine Mary ”Kate” Devaney whom Duncan takes a liking to. Soon he falls in love with her and after courting her for two years, Duncan decides to marry her. The couple marry in 1715. During the ceremony, Connor asks to speak to Duncan in private. He explains that Kate is an Immortal and that her type of Immortality can only be triggered by a violent death. Duncan says he has suspected as much. Connor reminds Duncan of how his marriage to Heather ended in heartache mainly because he watched her grow old and die while he still remained the same. Duncan is determined to be with Kate and rebuffs him. Duncan and Kate make love on their wedding night. As she lies sleeping, Duncan produces a knife and stabs her, making her into an Immortal like him. When Kate revives however, she runs off screaming into the night and holds a three hundred year grudge against Duncan. Their marriage is annulled the following day. The scene shifts to the present where Duncan confronts Kate at a fashion show where she is working as a designer, She is visibly angry at Duncan for killing her all those years ago and giving her Immortality which she didn’t ask for. “Give me the ability to have children…to grow old and die with the man I love” she sneers at Duncan who asks why she is with Kell. She tells him that she has never met someone with a lot of hate in his heart. With that Duncan leaves but not before give her a piece of his mind regarding redemption. She later returns to Kell’s temple where he suspects that she is considering joining Duncan. She then goes to Duncan’s hotel room where the two of them have sex. Afterwards she tells him that he had no right to have made that decision for her and she seems to make it clear that she will never forgive him. As she leaves and enters the elevator, Duncan confronts her and tells her that no matter what, she will forgive him even if it takes years or centuries but for Connor there can never be any redemption. Kate is somewhat moved by this. She later returns to Kell’s temple where she sees Jin Ke outside thinking. He mentions that there is a strong chance that Kell will kill him, her and the rest of the posse. Kell and the rest of the posse including Faith have a mock last supper where Kell draws two swords and beheads his followers(in some versions however, it is implied that Jin stabbed his sword into a wall and beheaded himself). As this is happening, Duncan senses the presence of another Immortal. He then goes up the roof of the hotel and encounters Connor. Where they talk about hope and redemption. Connor suddenly draws his katana on Duncan. He confesses he is too guilt-ridden by the deaths of all his loved ones to stand up to Kell by himself and has therefore decided to sacrifice himself so that Duncan will be strong enough to defeat Kell. Duncan is reluctant to fight him but Connor forces his hand by pressing his attack. Eventually, Duncan beheads Connor after saying goodbye to each other. After training intensely for the inevitable, Duncan goes to confront the evil Kell at a power station. Kell compliments Duncan on killing Connor and asks him how it feels to kill a brother. Duncan points out that Kell will now never have a chance to kill Connor. Kell asks if he will run or hide and with one word “Run” Duncan charges at Kell and the two men battle it out. After a long battle, Duncan is able to get the upper hand on Kell after he shows him a piece of a pendent that belonged to Kate. Duncan fights him and manages to use a move that Conner taught him which would allow him to behead Kell but to his horror, Kell counters the move using a hidden dagger which he then uses to stab Duncan multiple times,. As Duncan staggers back, he reaches for his sword and calls out to Jacob in Connor’s voice,implying that Connor’s essence is controlling him and with the last of his strength, Duncan executes a daring somersault, flying over Kell's head then suddenly beheading him before he can react. Afterwards, Duncan is in Scotland standing on a hilltop looking at a grave marked Connor Macleod beloved husband of Heather. Duncan then says sadly” I hope you found peace my friend”. In the climactic scene, Duncan is in a Mall when he senses an Immortal and sees Faith alive and well (showing that she survived). She then tells Duncan that she wants to give Kate another chance revealing that she has forgiven him and wants to give her marriage a chance. Duncan then tries to give her back a pendant which he originally gave her on their wedding day, but she declines telling him that they have all the time in the world and with that the two kiss. Cast Adrian Paul = Duncan MacLeod Christopher Lambert = Conner Macleod Bruce Payne = Jacob Kell Lisa Barbuscia = Kate Devaney / Kate. Peter Wingfield = Methos Jim Byrnes = Joe Dawson Donnie Yen = Jin Ke Damon Dash = Carlos Jones Oris Erhuero = Winston Ian Paul Cassidy = Cracker Bob Beatie Edney = Heather Macleod Sheila Gish = Rachel Ellistien. Thomas Lockyer = Mathew Hale. Christopher Lambert,Sheila Gish and Beatie Edney are the only actors from the original movie to appear in this film. 'PRODUCTION' . The movie was meant to act as a bridge between the Highlander television series and the spin-off series Highlander:The Raven that was continuing on TV back in 1999. But these plans started to go awry when "Raven" was cancelled due to low ratings and the change in syndication as well as production delays started occurring due to cast availability problems. Dimension Films, which took on the project as a way of invigorating the franchise, realized that its plans for the film were not going to meet expectations and scaled back on its release. Filming began on October 22, 1999 and ended on March 7, 2000. Much of the bulk of filming happened in Romania which was opposed by the producers. 'Writing' . Earlier drafts of the script differed greatly from the final cut in several aspects. The character of Kate was originally named Alexis, most of the flashbacks occurred in Shanghai China instead of Ireland. Methos and Duncan were living in Paris rather than London as they did in the end of the TV series. Hugh Fitzcairn and May Ling Shen were to appear in the Shanghai flashbacks. 'Casting' . Adrian Paul, Peter Wingfield and Jim Byrnes reprised there roles from the series. As did Sheila Gish and Beatie Edney from the original movie. Billy Idol and Jean Claude Van Damme were considered for the role of Jacob Kell before Bruce Payne was cast in the role. Juliet landau was in the running for the role of Kate/Faith. Theatrical release Dimension Films which was the films distributor demanded that cuts be made to the film to give it a faster pace. The deleted footage contained a more concrete exposition necessary to understand the Highlander universe especially for new fans who were not familiar to the franchise. The theatrical cut was heavily criticized by critics and fans who felt that the story was terribly interpreted. JACOB KELL’S GANG The movie introduced a group of Immortal follower’s of Jacob Kell who followed him as a religious leader. Known as Jacob Kell’s gang, they broke the rules of The Game by fighting all together against a single Immortal, in disrespect to the one on one rule, so that Kell could take his Quickening to become more powerful. Much not known about the Immortal’s first meeting with Jacob. They included, Jin Ke who was one of the Chinese soldiers who failed to assassinate the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang and was killed for it, Winston a Jamaican Immortal, Cracker Bob known for his explosive personality and his fondness of wearing eccentric clothing, Manny a former Vietnam soldier and Carlos Jones an African American Immortal. Faith was also part of the group. Alternate Verison The DVD release features a 101-minute "producers' cut" which features improved visual effects, sound mixing, and color-timing, and restores numerous scenes of exposition intended to make the story more easily understandable for audiences unfamiliar with the Highlander franchise. The "producers' cut" includes the "Kate lives" ending and removes the line of dialogue in which Methos refers to the Sanctuary as holy ground, which was criticized by fans.[6] The Region 1 (United States and Canada) DVD includes, as a bonus feature, a rough workprint cut of the film. The visual quality of the rough cut is rather poor, with unfinished special effects and a timecode visible at all times, and alternating between widescreen and full-screen. This cut features a subplot involving Connor giving a Christmas tree to an orphanage every Christmas, an activity picked up by Duncan after Connor's death. Kate does not appear in this version of the film at its conclusion, unlike the producers' cut included on the DVD. The rough cut also notably features an extended version of the "Last Supper" scene in which Jin Ke plunges his sword into a wall and beheads himself after realizing that he cannot beat Kell, thereby denying Kell the opportunity to kill him. In the other versions of the film, this scene was edited to make it appear that Kell beheads Jin Ke (off-screen) along with the rest of the group. 'RECEPTION' . Critical response Critical reaction to Highlander: Endgame has been mixed to negative aminly due to the theatrical release. It holds a 12% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 52 reviews, higher than Highlander II (0%) and Highlander III (5%), [7], and a score of 21 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 37 revews. Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times gave Endgame a mildly positive review, saying: "It's nice to see mindless violence back in a B picture, where it belongs, and the swordplay is impressive. When movie sticks to the hand-to-hand battles and doesn't try to offer deeper thoughts on the life of an immortal, it works on its own terms. IGN gave Endgame a score of 8 out of 10, saying that "fans will be pleased," adding: "Endgame proves to be both true to the spirit of the first film and the television series, has a solid story to tell, it features the best fight sequences of the series. Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com said, "Personally, I enjoyed it about the way I enjoyed the Mortal Kombat movies, meaning that its genuine fun and its unintentionally ridiculous moments are roughly in balance. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly remarked: Fans will be thrilled that Connor MacLeod and his fellow clansman Duncan MacLeod engage in a vein-popping showdown to see which immortal will bump off the other, thereby achieving a quickening of multiorgasmic proportions. Those who aren't in the cult of this popular genre fantasy not only won't understand what the previous sentence is about, but may also wonder what's so great about perpetual life if it entails shlepping from one badly lit, cheesily art-directed, peat bog-colored century to another, spouting hollow dialogue. Travis Eddings of Film Threat gave the film one half star out of five, saying: "After viewing Highlander: Endgame, it's obvious that Aarniokoski has no idea how to make a film. ... The only reason why this film earns one-half of a star instead of zero is due to some unintended laughs. It's funny to see what passes as acting in this movie.James Brundage of FilmCritic.com gave the film one and half stars out of five, saying: "Highlander: Endgame possesses all of the elements of a straight-to-video action movie. Cheap special effects that look cool, weak characters that still pull heartstrings, and a bunch of actors no one really knows unless you have seen this or that obscure flick. And, taking that view, one wonders why the hell I even had to watch Highlander: Endgame in theatres. Carlo Cavagna of About Film called the film "a disaster," adding: "The plot and the characters' motivations are nonsense. Lambert's character has nowhere to go, and his once-magnetic glower is tired and worn. Several opportunities for spectacular action are squandered because the movie's villain has a tendency to execute summarily his own henchmen. Paul's modicum of charisma, director Douglas Aarniokoski's broad panoramas that recall the original Highlander, and Lambert's amusing skirmishes with a Scottish accent are not enough to provide any redeeming value. Critics on the one hand praised Bruce Payne's performance in the film. One reviewer said of Highlander: Endgame that "the one in the cast that seems to be having the most fun is Bruce Payne. Traditionally Highlander villains give performances that go completely over-the-top and well into the stratosphere. Payne contrarily gives a performance where he enunciates every syllable with relish and dramatic weight, resulting in a performance that is entirely captivating whenever he is on screen. Box office The film was not a financial success, managing to gather only $15m of its $25m budget. In the North American box office, the film opened at #5, grossing $6,223,330 USD in its opening weekend. It went on to gross $12,811,858 domestically and gather $3,031,750 from foreign markets for a worldwide total of $15,843,608.[16] Trivia *The scene of Duncan in the hilltop in Scotland was the last shot filmed, and arrived for the editors the day they started making release prints. *As Duncan travels toward his rendezvous with Connor, there is a shot of his vehicle passing Silvercup Studios, the scene of the final battle between Connor and Kurgan in the original Highlander. *For the scene in the cemetery where they meet following the events at the Sanctuary, Duncan and Connor originally spoke French, because both Paul and Lambert are fluent. However, during post-production it was decided to switch the language over to Scottish Gaelic. *In the theatrical version of the film, Methos refers to the Sanctuary as Holy Ground. Many fans were upset that Kell killed Immortals on Holy Ground with no consequences, So all references to the Sanctuary as Holy Ground were deleted from the DVD version of the movie. *This is the fourth and last "Highlander" movie to feature a villain whose name starts with the letter K. The villains are Kurgan from Highlander (1986), Katana from Highlander II: The Quickening (1991), Kane from Highlander III: The Sorcerer (1994), and Kell from this film. The tradition ended with the next two films, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance (2007) (V) and Highlander: The Source (2007). *The Faith fashion show was filmed in London's Millennium Dome exhibition. *The interior of the Sanctuary was actually an abandoned salt mine 200 yards below ground in Romania. The only access to the mine was a single elevator, and the crew had to be transported down a few at a time. *The scene of the village burning was originally shot to show Connor deliberately setting the fire in his fit of rage. The producers later decided that Connor would not be cruel enough to do this, and the scene was edited to make it appear that the fire starts incidentally. *In the theatrical poster, the sword Duncan is holding is actually the katana that the Official Highlander Store was selling at the time, and not the prop Adrian Paul actually used in the movie or the TV series. They are completely different designs. Gallary Endgame_(12).jpg|Duncan meets Jin Ke 167.jpg|Mathew lets the watcher know the duncan is on the dd.jpg|Faith/Kate 92_fs.jpg|Kell dies 7_fs.jpg|Conner reacts to Rachel's death 24_fs.jpg|The Sanctuary 27_fs.jpg 55_fs.jpg 66_fs.jpg 5544314_gal.jpg|Duncan and Connner in 1700's 9092501_gal.jpg jac.jpg|Jacob Kell's immortal kills 9092948_gal.jpg|Conner 's Immortal kills 11050261_gal.jpg|Conner vs Duncan 11051068_gal.jpg|Winston dead. 11051080_gal.jpg|Conner and Kell fight off holy ground 11547348_gal.jpg|Conner and Duncan in 1712 11547364_gal.png.jpg|Conner is beheaded 5544008_gal.jpg|Joe saves Duncan heg491.jpg|the last supper 11050307_gal.jpg|Duncan prepares to kill Faith to trigger heri 11051005_gal.jpg|Kell decides to kill Carlos heg501.jpg|kell recives a quickening =External Links= Category:Highlander films